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How To Start A Virtual Book Club

 in Book Events / Books / Fun by

During, and following, COVID many things that once were in person had to pivot to become virtual. And some of these things stayed that way, or opened up a new door with countless possibilities. One of these things was the transition of book clubs from gathering in person to online. This certainly presented challenges but also allowed people who maybe never have been to a book club to go from the comfort and safety of their own home, and meet some wonderful people from around the world.

I’m fortunate enough to be in a book club and actually run one with a wonderful group of men and women, primarily along the East Coast of the United States. It’s certainly not big, which is how I like it – kind of cozy and intimate like a real book club. But it afforded those older an ability to have a community during the trying times of COVID and also exposed me to some incredible pieces of literature and interesting perspectives.

During my time in the book club, co-moderating, and now running it, I’ve learnt a thing or two about how to successfully run a book club and wanted to pass on some tips and tricks if you wanted to start your own – either with strangers, you blog followers, or friends and family!

At a high level, this is what you need!

Made with Canva.com

Now to get into the down and dirty with a bit more information and examples of how I run it! 

1. Choose your platform to host it on wisely.

There’s a lot of great places out there that you can host on – I know there’s some in Discord for example. But for me personally, Facebook groups was the way to go. We needed it simple for those less technologically inclined and something which was accessible to many without needing to make a new account. If your group is older, or mixed, some of these fancy new apps and such may not work.

2. Decide if you will make administrative decisions or want the group to vote!

Some groups like to vote on everything. Others like to have the leaders make the choices. I personally enjoy doing a mix because it lets people be involved, but makes sure things get done. An example is, I will have people suggest monthly themes and I collect them all and then I choose what month they will occur on and try and get in as many as I can that were suggested! I’ve tried the collection of themes and having people vote on when they wanted it and let me tell you, it got messy. Sometimes as a moderator you need to just make decisions on your own.

3. Decide how many books you want to read and organize, organize, organize!

Some book groups read one book a quarter, some only a couple a year and others one a month. We are the latter so we get through a lot of book which is fantastic. But it means there is a lot of planning. How many books you want to read will determine how many themes you will need for the year. And this will also dictate when you need to be collecting and posting what people will be reading. You need to make sure to leave enough time to get the book – whether that be buying it or getting it from a library. Make sure you know what is happening when before you start.

If it’s friends it’s a little less informal and you can go with the flow, but if it’s strangers you want to put a good foot forward to have people engage and want to read the books.

4. Make Themes!

Themes are a great way to make sure that you have an array of books (you can see an example of what I do to the left). This is particularly important if you plan to try and read a lot of books. You can make your book club have a theme if that is your desire – so you are a classical book club, or a sci-fi book club. But, if you just want to read anything out there, start with making themes. Before January (or whenever your “new year” will start) it can be smart to know what your monthly themes will be.

How I’ve run mine is that end of November or early December I do a post in the Facebook group and ask my members for theme suggestions. Suggestions can be super specific or very general – but you want the themes to have enough clarity so people know what kind of book to suggest.

Once you collect all the theme suggestions, I’d recommend making executive decisions on what month will be when, and try and be logical! Maybe keep spooky themes to October, travel reads to the summer (or maybe the winter to escape the cold!)

5. Decide on your schedule.

You need to decide what is going to be happening when so people know what to expect. For example in my book club, during the month of January, the first of the month I post what our February theme is. People know what the theme is already because there’s a pinned post so they know what is up and coming and that is decided every year for the following year.

But, I’ll do a Facebook group post stating the theme for next month and asking for suggestions of books. I’ll usually leave that open for a week and choose the date I will accept suggestions until. Then on that date I collect everyone suggestions and do a poll! This allows members to vote on what they want to read – this will be open about a week too. Whatever has the most votes at the end wins! If two tie, then I’ll usually make an executive choice. By about the third week of a month, for this example in January, we’ll have our book for the month of February and we’ll post the winner!

The month of February is for reading and also choosing when we discuss the February book I recommend setting that in stone for your group if you can – i.e.: the first Sunday/the first Friday or a month we will meet to discuss. My group likes to be a bit more flexible so we vote on which of the first two weekends in the following month (so for this example, the following month is March) works best.

So for one book for one month, there’s about a 3 month timeline. It’s a lot of work and a lot of organizing but once it’s set and flowing, it’s worth it! That being said, you can simplify it absolutely! This is just how mine works, and sure it is complicated sometimes, but we have it down to a fine art after many years!

 

After that, you just have to have fun and be flexible! Book clubs should be a social time so it is entirely up to you how you want it to go. Having some structure can help it go smoothly, but if you want to just go with the flow then that is okay too! Just be open to some feedback to best suit it for your group! That being said, if you have a huge virtual book club then organization will be key!

Book clubs are a great way to be exposed to more books. I’ve definitely read books I’ve disliked or never would have read but ultimately I’ve enjoyed the process and community! Also with virtual it means you can possibly meet people from around the world. Starting small is great and growing your community from there is key!

 

Do you have any tips or tricks on how to run a virtual book club that I haven’t mentioned here? Feel free to share in the comments!

 

Big Book Stores: The Secret to Keeping Indie Stores Alive?

 in Books / Interesting / Opinion by

Recently a fantastic essay came out on BookRiot on “How Should We Feel About Barnes & Nobel Now?” and it has been doing it’s round. If you haven’t given it a read, I highly recommend that you do.

The TL;DR is essentially that Barnes & Nobel is coming back and while it seems that they are trying to make their stores more “indie” focused – allowing stores to be a bit more unique and have smaller book selections – they really are just a big store with a bottom line. They aren’t there to truly care about the customer in the same way tat an indie store would. The author of the essay went so far to compare B&N to some of the Amazon Bookstores.

But, I would argue that there is some benefit to having B&N back on the scene and rebranding in a way. It gives some strong competition to Amazon in my opinion. Amazon has dominated the market is literally every single category. You need food? Amazon. Beauty items? Amazon. Phones? Amazon. Adult items? Amazon.

From larasbookclub.wordpress.com

Don’t get me wrong, I am guilty of using Amazon and as a blogger they do have a ‘decent’ and easy program to be an associate and earn a small commission, but at the end of the day they push everyone else to the side! Keep places that challenge a store like Amazon – whether that be Target, Walmart or B&N – means that there is some kind of diversity and it stops prices being too too crazy.

So where does Barnes & Nobel fit in?

Well, they challenge Amazon Books, you know those brick and mortar stores that they set up? I checked one out a long time ago and I personally hated it.

B&N allows people go in and browse, and also bring back a lot of our childhoods who grew up going to their events or looking for a book! It’s kind of that gateway that can help to maintain prices, have more money to keep more books in store and maybe introduce you to other books that you didn’t know of.

So how could this help indie stores?

Well this is where the buyer/reader comes in. Places like B&N, as I said, are good to browse and see what is out there. I hate shopping for books online so I may go into B&N and peruse the shelves, see what their people recommend, take some pictures of books I’m curious in, and then leave. I don’t purchase from them usually unless I go in for a purpose for something. From there I may go to an indie book store and find the book (sometimes reaching out before hand to have them get it in) and give them my business.

I used what B&N provided for me in their physical location but give my money elsewhere for certain purchases.

In my opinion, indie stores also usually hire people who are truly passionate about books and want to talk about books. B&N, as a large company, is just going to hire staff, or be more likely to. Not everyone who works there is a book lover and may just need a job. If you’ve ever been in an indie store you know what I mean! The staff love to chat, answer questions and always give great suggestions!

From my Instagram

So while B&N is still a big company and wants to take your money, when you are looking at prices, the price difference is honestly (in many cases) decently negligible. And yes, I know Amazon looks so attractive with their cheap prices, but they want you to only buy from them. They play the long game – buy from them, push other places out of business and then hike up the prices and you’ll have nowhere else to go.

There is no one clear answer – sometimes you can’t afford to really support an indie place and really have to turn to Amazon, I totally get that. Buttt, barring those pesky school books that you have to buy, I have a great solution there! Your library! I’m a big supporter of libraries for those who don’t maybe have tons of money to spent – I mean big duh with the name and all. But maybe instead of buying your whole TBR, borrow some and buy what you love and put that money towards indie stores. Just one option of many and there is no one size fit all.

But I know that I will continue to love my Barnes & Nobel to just go, grab a coffee and wander around a big store and look at books. I mean what is better than that?!

The Mad Women’s Ball by Victoria Mas

 in Adult / Books by
This post contains affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure here.

Summary

“The Salpêtrière Asylum: Paris, 1885. Dr. Charcot holds all of Paris in thrall with his displays of hypnotism on women who have been deemed mad and cast out from society. But the truth is much more complicated—these women are often simply inconvenient, unwanted wives, those who have lost something precious, wayward daughters, or girls born from adulterous relationships. For Parisian society, the highlight of the year is the Lenten ball—the Mad Women’s Ball—when the great and good come to gawk at the patients of the Salpêtrière dressed up in their finery for one night only. For the women themselves, it is a rare moment of hope.

Genevieve is a senior nurse. After the childhood death of her sister Blandine, she shunned religion and placed her faith in both the celebrated psychiatrist Dr. Charcot and science. But everything begins to change when she meets Eugénie, the 19-year-old daughter of a bourgeois family that has locked her away in the asylum. Because Eugénie has a secret: she sees spirits. Inspired by the scandalous, banned work that all of Paris is talking about, The Book of Spirits, Eugénie is determined to escape from the asylum—and the bonds of her gender—and seek out those who will believe in her. And for that she will need Genevieve’s help . . .”

-From Amazon.com

Review

This was yet another book from my book club that I probably never would have picked up on my own. This was for our theme of “A Book Translated into English” and this was our choice – a book from French to English. And wow am I so glad that I gave it a read. I truly enjoyed this book and it was a quick read too with it being completed in about 2-3 hours, so you know it’s good when that happens. I just curled up and devoured it.

Infuriatingly Interesting – Really Men?!

This book really displayed the power that men had during the 1800s and the fear that they had of powerful women. Men, and particularly fathers and husbands of women could just lock a woman up in a asylum for anything – hysterics, murder, seeing things, just because they didn’t fit the mold. It was so infuriating to see the treatment of Eugénie and the fact that because she saw spirits her father turned against her and quite literally threw her away. It was just so painful to read that she went from being this relatively beloved daughter to being completely disowned. And seeing the treatment of Genevieve and the general disregard of her after a particular turn of events….ooo man my blood was boiling.

And then you just have the treatment of the women while in the asylum – paraded around like animals in a zoo. They were presented and studied, and photographs taken of them and posted in the newspapers. It was just such a look into life that people forget about. While the book is fiction it is historically accurate with those details.

A Look into Asylums

While there was the whole terrible side of the treatment of women by men like they were property, you did get to see a kind of safety that the asylum did provide – whether that be through a false sense of safety/Stockholm kind of syndrome or true safety. You read about women who maybe were a little bit clinically insane loving the world that was the asylum because of the safety that it provided and the little world that they had been able to create for themselves.

Seeing the more open minded Eugénie come in with a very progressive mindset into there and almost turning the place on its head in a way was just very interesting to see. The shake up she caused internally, even though not terribly massive, really did cause some big waves.

A Stark Reminder in Modern Times

No to get political, but these kind of books during modern times are always a reminder of what was and what could possibly be again! A time when men had all the power over society and over women – a time that is scarily becoming more and more a reality in many places both in the United States as well as around the world. I honestly found it a little stressful to read all of this because of that. I felt like it was hitting a little to close to home and I felt a deep seeded annoyance. The portrayal of this world really makes you think and also be grateful for all the strides that the Women’s Rights movement made for women all over.

 

But overall, this was a 5/5 teacup book for me! It was well written (any writing style issues I chalked up to translation issues which always happen), a really interesting and captivating story and emotionally thought provoking. I wished by the end of it that there was more – like maybe it was a bigger book with more for me to read! That’s how you know a book is good – when you feel satisfied with the story but just wish there was more because you don’t want it to be over.

If you’ve read this book, what did you think?

Also there is a French movie adaptation of this book which I will absolutely be checking out soon!

 

MyLibraryCardWoreOut is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way affects my opinion of the book(s) included in this post. 

In The Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende

 in Books by

 Summary

“During the biggest Brooklyn snowstorm in living memory, Richard Bowmaster, a lonely university professor in his sixties, hits the car of Evelyn Ortega, a young undocumented immigrant from Guatemala, and what at first seems an inconvenience takes a more serious turn when Evelyn comes to his house, seeking help. At a loss, the professor asks his tenant, Lucia Maraz, a fellow academic from Chile, for her advice.

As these three lives intertwine, each will discover truths about how they have been shaped by the tragedies they witnessed, and Richard and Lucia will find unexpected, long overdue love. Allende returns here to themes that have propelled some of her finest work: political injustice, the art of survival, and the essential nature of—and our need for—love.”

-From Amazon.com

Review

This was a book and an author that I have heard quite a lot about. I feel like I hear this name super often and people give such high praises. I’ve never read another book by Allende so I have zero comparison of this book to her more famous book The House of the Spirits. But for this book, honestly, I was kind of disappointed….

Lower Quality Writing?

I just felt like the writing was a little sub par. I will be transparent and say I was also read The Satanic Versus by Salman Rushdie at the same time which has very elite writing, so maybe my brain was confuddled, but, others who were reading this as part of my book club felt similar. The writing and story just felt, at a more in the weeds level, kind of below the quality that I was writing. The sentences and writing style was simple at the story just felt a little disjointed and all over the place.

Interesting Story with Potential

The story itself was quite interesting through. You had various stories going on with overlap and it wasn’t until the end that it all came together. You got to see characters change and see how they grew based on their previous life experiences. And the central event that held them all together through the story was interesting to see how it impacted the characters. So the story had such potential and overall as a read was certainly interesting.

But there was just parts of the story that felt a little strange or rushed. Like some of the relationship development felt almost comical, and not in a good way. The fact there was all this stuff going on in the story, in the middle of a huge snow storm…I don’t know it had this kind of Planes, Trains and Automobile kind of feeling to it. I can’t put my finger on exactly what I didn’t love as it wasn’t anything glaring.

A Representation of Latin American Struggles

I did love reading the stories from some of the characters past from Latin America. Hearing about Evelyn and what she had gone through really pulled at my heart. Just imagining someone going through what she went through and persevering and just being as strong as she was was beautiful. I did absolutely love the inclusion of that and how it was woven into the story and also kind of an integral part of the book. Also the little hits of magic realism, which while miniscule, did have a few moments.

Overall I think I would give this book 3 out of 5 teacups. It was definitely worth a read because of some of the characters personal stories but it definitely was not as good as I thought it was going to be due to all the hype, and I certainly wouldn’t buy it. This was a library book borrow for me.

If you have read this book, or other books by Allende, I’d love to hear your opinions because maybe this wasn’t her best piece of literature. I do want to give House of the Spirits a go when I can because I’ve heard a lot about that one too. And I’ll be very curious to hear from those in my book group (who have very diverse opinions) on what their thoughts were, and will be sure to update this post with some of their thoughts!

Happy Reading!

 

 

MyLibraryCardWoreOut is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way affects my opinion of the book(s) included in this post. 

Archangel’s Sun by Nalini Singh [Guild Hunter Book Review]

 in Adult / Books by

Summary

“The Archangel of Death and the Archangel of Disease may be gone but their legacy of evil lives on – especially in Africa, where the shambling, rotting creatures called the reborn have gained a glimmer of vicious intelligence.

It is up to Titus, archangel of this vast continent, to stop the reborn from spreading across the world. Titus can’t do it alone, but of the surviving powerful angels and archangels, large numbers are wounded, while the rest are fighting a surge of murderous vampires.

There is no one left . . . but the Hummingbird. Old, powerful, her mind long a broken kaleidoscope. Now she must stand at Titus’s side against a tide of death, upon a discovery more chilling than any other. For the Archangel of Disease has left them one last terrible gift . . .”

-From Amazon.com

Review

Oh man, Nalini Singh does it again with another absolutely incredible book! It’s been a while since I read one of her books and was behind on a few releases, so over the past weekend I made some impulse purchases and have been absolutely devouring them. 24 hours to get through this one!

A Beautiful & Intricate Story 

The Guild Hunter series is such a journey, getting to see all the main characters and even side characters, getting to see their life, their love and their pain. That is what I love about this series. While of course it is a romance story, there is just so much more than that! There is a story in each book and an overarching story throughout the series that keeps you turning pages.

Nalini Singh is a master with writing honestly. She writes with lots of beautiful adjectives, painting this ethereal picture of these creatures and places in her stories that you just feel transported there. It only take a few sentences to feel myself pulled into this world, experiencing what everyone is experiencing and just seeing both the beauty and horror.

Titus & The Hummingbird: The Perfect Balance

The Hummingbird, or Sharine, was always one of the characters I was so curious about. Her and her so Illium have wings in the book that are just this gorgeous indigo/blue color and I always wanted to know more about her. She was always referenced as this incredible artist and gentle and seeing her in this story was marvelous. You saw this wonderful progression of this woman who was perceived to be fragile who actually had warrior talents and was beautifully badass.

Singh always writes women who are powerful, kick ass, take no crap from men, yet have this beautifully sensual relationship with them and through that are just incredible. I’m always impressed how she manages to balance that fine line between the romance and keeping the woman strong and the men masculine.

Romance & Blood

This continued the story of all the reborn, following the destruction and mess created by the Archangel of Death and the Archangel of Disease. A lot of the story was following the clean up of so many of them and included the traditional Guild Hunter violence and gore that you all will be familiar with if you have read Singh’s writings before!

But in this one it was just so interesting to see with a character like The Hummingbird – a woman who was always presented as staying inside and being the artist who is now out in the thick of it getting down and dirty with Titus, the Archangel of Africa (who is just so very yummy!).

You got to see Titus go from an Archangel who was flippant with relationships and never promised anything more to him finding himself and questioning just so much. Seeing his transformation as well within the writing was just beautiful!

A Classic Nalini Singh Book! 

Every book that Singh writes I absolutely devour and love to read. I get capitated and transported into the world and honestly cannot put it down. This one was no different.

I absolutely give it the 5 out of 5 teacups rating, but definitely recommend you read it as part of the whole series and not a stand alone – although technically you could, just may be a little lost!

Happy Reading!

MyLibraryCardWoreOut is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way affects my opinion of the book(s) included in this post.